Advertising case study 1: OMO print advert

The first close-study product for Advertising and Marketing is the 1955 advert for OMO washing powder that appeared in Woman's Own magazine.

This product provides an excellent opportunity to analyse the changing representation of women in advertising over the last 60 years.

Sample questions for Advertising and Marketing

In your Media exams, you are likely to get questions similar to these:

- Why do advertisers use stereotypes? [6 marks]

- Explain how advertisements reflect the historical context in which they were created. [12 marks]

OMO advert CSP (1955)

OMO was a popular washing powder brand in the 1950s. This advert was from 1955 and needs to be studied both in terms of historical context and how it would be received today.

In 1955, British society was still adjusting after World War Two in which women took on many traditionally male jobs with men off fighting. This led to advertising in the 1950s often trying to reinforce traditional female stereotypes of housewives and mothers in order to protect male power both at work and at home.

Annotations

In the lesson, you'll have a chance to annotate your own copy of the OMO advert and make notes of the key conventions and what they communicate to the audience.

Here are some of the questions we discussed when we annotated our copy of the advert in class:

And here's an image of an annotated advert from a lesson on OMO - you'll need your Greenford Google login to access this.

OMO advert: blog tasks

Work through the tasks in this blogpost to make sure you're an expert on this CSP.

1) What year was the advert produced?

2) How were women represented in most adverts in the 1950s?

3) What typography can be found in the advert and what connotations might this have?

4) What does the costume, make-up and placement of the model (mise-en-scene) suggest about women's role in society in 1955?

5) Why is a picture of the product added to the bottom right of the advert?

6) What are the connotations of the chosen colours in this advert - red, white and blue?

7) How does the anchorage text use persuasive language to encourage the audience to buy the product? Give examples.

8) What representation of women can be found in this OMO advert? Make specific reference to the advert and discuss stereotypes.

Extension questions

What is the preferred reading for this advert - what did the producers of the advert want the audience to think in 1955?

What is the oppositional reading for this advert - how might a modern audience respond to this text and the representation of women here?

How much do you think things have changed over the last 60 years with regards to representations of women in advertising? Give examples from a variety of adverts

How is the aftermath of World War Two reflected in the Omo advert? Why did many adverts in the 1950s strongly reinforce the stereotype of women as mothers and housewives?

You will have lesson time to answer these questions but will need to complete for homework - due date on Google Classroom.

Advertising and Marketing: Key conventions

Our new topic is Advertising and Marketing - an important aspect of Media Studies.

One of the key aspects to deconstructing advertisements is denotation and connotation. Remember the definitions:

Denotation: the literal meaning of something
Connotation: the deeper meaning or what is suggested (reading between the lines)

Codes and conventions of print adverts

When studying print adverts we need to look for the following conventions or typical features:

• Picture of product
• USP - unique selling point. What is it that makes the product special or different to appeal to consumers?
• Lighting
• Setting / colour scheme
• Logo – this is usually the brand name 
• Slogan – this is a catchy phrase summing up the ethos of the product e.g Nike’s ‘Just Do It’

Adverts will often use unique and interesting ways to attract the attention of the target audience. This might be: innovative branding; clever use of space; unconventional or subversive ideas; emotional connections or shock / controversy.

Persuasive techniques in advertising

Advertisements are generally trying to persuade their target audience to:

• Buy a product or service
• Believe something or act in a certain way
• Agree with a point of view

There are many persuasive techniques used in advertising. A selection include:

• Image and colour scheme- to catch and keep attention
• Slogan – a catchy phrase or statement
• Established brand identity – associated with success or taste or good quality. 
• Repetition – constant reference to product name
• Association / Star Power – e.g. celebrity endorsement
• Emotional appeal or shock tactics – designed to create strong feelings
• Expert opinion – ‘4 out of 5 dentists…’
• Imperative- Giving no choice e.g ‘Taste the rainbow’

Media analysis example - Maltesers advert

Conventions and analysis

• Pictures of the product (Maltesers) to remind us of the type of product it is. The image also reinforces the word ‘lighter’ as the chocolates dance and jump off the floor. 
• The Logo is bright and large in the centre of the advert. The word ‘malt’ relates to the flavours used and ‘tesers’ is a play on the word ‘tease’ which ties in with the playful, light ethos. 
• The Background features the heavy use of red. It is bright and eye-catching with connotations of love. This makes the consumer recognise the brand colour and makes them think they love the product, or may gift it to someone they love. 
• The Slogan at the bottom is clearly visible and stands out against the background. ‘Lighter’ and ‘enjoy’ reinforce the USP – that Maltesers are slightly healthier or 'lighter' chocolate. 
• The Colour Scheme is red and white - recognisable from the packets of Maltesers, creating a brand identity. 

Introduction to advertising: blog task

Create a new blogpost called 'Advertising: Key conventions'. Look at this Skittles advert:

1) What key conventions of print adverts can you find and what are the connotations or deeper meanings of each convention? For each convention, write about how it communicates meaning to the audience. See the Maltesers advert above for an example of how to do this.

2) What is the USP (unique selling point) for Skittles and how do you know? Does the advert use any of persuasive techniques listed above?

Look at the Maltesers example above if you are unsure how to complete these tasks.

Extension tasks

If you have completed an in-depth analysis of the Skittles advert, write an analysis of a print advert that you have chosen using Google Images. 

Next, do some additional research into creative or powerful print advertising. 

Task: Find an example of a print advert for EACH of the following:

1) A clear brand identity

2) A shocking or controversial idea

3) An emotional connection to audience

4) An innovative or ‘different’, subversive concept (e.g the porcupine advertising VW car)

5) A foreign advert that you can understand despite the language barrier

You can find plenty of examples for the above by googling 'creative print adverts' or similar.

Due date: on Google Classroom

Magazines: Heat CSP case study

Heat is our second magazine Close Study Product. We need to study the media language and representation of people and groups on the front cover of Heat 21-27 November 2020.

The key notes on Heat are here:

Terminology: low brow and high brow culture

High brow: Intellectual, cultured. Aimed at intelligent or educated people. E.g. University Challenge / The Times. 

Low brow: Lacking culture or intellectual content. Usually aimed at less educated people or seen as a 'guilty pleasure'. E.g. reality TV, celebrity magazines.

General

• From Bauer Media’s website about the brand of Heat: “Heat is the brand that sets popular culture alight and gets people talking. Now a huge multiplatform brand that's unrivalled in the entertainment market, heat is more than just a magazine- it's a radio station, a podcast, an app and has a huge online and social media presence.”
• From the Heat media pack: "In print – we bring readers a truly unique, quality experience. From clever A-list access shoots no other magazine could pull off to celeb news – heat has the celeb contacts to give readers the exclusive every time."
• The magazine also offers shopping and lifestyle tips: "Our all-inclusive approach promises style for everybody, no matter what shape or size, and our team test fashion and beauty products to make sure readers spend their hard-earned pennies wisely. And Life Hacks gives readers down-time inspo by curating the buzziest experiences in travel, food, fitness, wellbeing and homes."

Heat's target audience

• FEMALE/MALE: 90% / 10%
• AVG AGE: 37
• AGE PROFILE: 52% AGED 15/34 (14% 15-24, 37% 25-34)
• SEGMENT: 50% ABC1
• MARITAL STATUS: 57% MARRIED (or living with partner) / 43% single

Source: Heat Media Pack 2019

Media language

• Typography / Fonts:  Sans serif fonts to make the magazine feel modern, informal and offering the latest gossip. ‘Posh’ written in serif to make it feel ‘posh’.
• Cover lines: Indirect address favoured by celebrity gossip magazines emphasises the gossip feel. Questions to audience create inclusive, gossipy feel and words like ‘shock new pics’ and ‘Behind closed doors’.
• Name checks/star appeal: the cover is packed with celebrity gossip and the magazine sells itself on having the latest celebrity gossip. Note the stars are given first names only - Heat readers know these celebs already and want to hear the latest.
• Colour scheme: Pink, yellow and red. Bright colours to attract attention – important without a single central image. Gossip magazines tend to be busier and more packed with images to suggest issues that are bursting with different stories. 

Representations

• The people represented on the cover are mostly celebrities and well known actors, reality television stars and music artists. Why?
• Celebrities are presented as important and desirable – but some of the paparazzi photography is designed to make them look like ‘normal’ people.

Social and cultural contexts

The features in Heat focus on a few key areas:

• Relationships: normative and subversive as words are used such as ‘secretive’, ‘baby daddy’ and ‘heartache’. Focus is on relationship breakdowns. 
• Shopping: Christmas shopping suggestions on front cover. Heat magazine emphasises High Street shopping recommendations and affordable ways to get the latest looks.
• British TV and music: Most of the images and stories relate to reality TV stars and/or pop stars (or former pop stars). This is an example of intertextuality with Heat regularly references other media products (e.g. ‘I’m A Celeb Exclusive’).
  

Heat case study: blog tasks

Work through the following tasks and questions to build a detailed case study for Heat - 21-27 November 2020. This will give you plenty of background information to use in an exam question on magazines.

Introduction - Heat Media pack

1) Look at the Heat Media Pack. Go to page 2: the Heat mission. Write three things that Heat offers its readers under 'print'.

2) Now go to page 3 of the Media Pack - celebrity focus. What does the page say that Heat offers readers?

3) Now look at page 4 of the Heat Media Pack. What other content does Heat magazine offer its readers aside from celebrity news?

4) Look at page 5. What is Heat magazine's audience profile? Write all the key details of their audience here. 

Media language

1) How many of the 12 magazine cover key conventions feature on this edition of Heat? List them with specific reference to the convention on the CSP edition of Heat.

2) How are the cover lines written to make the audience want to buy the magazine?

3) What are the connotations of the Heat colour scheme on this particular front cover?

4) How are images used to create interest in the magazine? Find three reasons for your answer. (E.g. paparazzi images or aspects of mise-en-scene such props, costume, make-up, body position, facial expression etc.)

5) What differences can you find between the use of design and typography between Tatler and Heat? List at least three differences and explain the effect on audiences.

Representations

1) What type of celebrities appear on the front cover of Heat? List them here. 

2) How are celebrities represented in Heat? (Positively? Negatively? Reinforcing or challenging stereotypes?)

3) How are women represented on the cover of Heat? Think about both images and cover lines here.

4) How is race and ethnicity represented on this cover of Heat?

5) How do Heat and Tatler represent social class? What different social classes can you find in the features and celebrities on the cover? (E.g. middle/upper class / working class)

 

Extension tasks

1) What are paparazzi images and why are they crucial to the front cover of Heat? 

2) What do these two magazines suggest about representations of social class in the British media?

3) How does the front cover combine text and images to create contrast and narrative on the front cover of Heat?

Complete for homework - due date on Google Classroom.